Girls Preparatory School athletic trainer Robbie Williams, also the coordinator of athletic training for the Center for Sports Medicine, was honored this past weekend in Nashville as the state Sandy Sandlin high school athletic trainer of the year, named for a Chattanooga icon. The award was presented at the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society annual meeting. Williams has served GPS since 1995 on behalf of the CSM, where he supervises 15 athletic trainers, according to a GPS release Wednesday. A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate, he has been the Bruisers’ only trainer for 23 years. Expressing gratitude for that role, he said, “A day doesn’t go by that I am not thanked by an athlete, coach, parent or administrator for my work here.”
Basketball
* The Chattanooga State women’s basketball team stayed hot with an 81-66 nonconference home win Wednesday against Gadsden State. That improved the Lady Tigers to 17-5 overall with 14 wins in their last 15 games. Jalexis Russell scored 19 points and Dalayiah Crawford had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Gadsden.
* The Cleveland State women rallied from 13 points down in the second quarter to edge visiting Roane State 77-75 in TCCAA basketball Wednesday evening, but the host Cougars fell 90-76 to Roane’s Raiders. Asjah Harrell had 22 points and six assists and Britnay Gore contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Cougars (13-6, 9-2). The Cleveland State men (8-12, 5-6) had some impressive highlights even in defeat: Torian Day scored a career-high 18 points and added four assists, and Demonte Person had five assists and set the Cougars’ career record with 219 for his two seasons. Cam Copeland (2016-18) owned the old record. Jager Dickson and Jakobey Hitchens scored 11 points each.
* The nationally 18th-ranked Bryan College women won 68-55 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday at Tennessee Wesleyan, but the host Bulldogs won the men’s game 84-70 as Joshua Chairs scored 22 points with 6-of-9 3-point shooting and Bryant Bernard provided 13 rebounds and 17 points. Ty Patterson and Jamesio Rhine added 13 and 10 points for Wesleyan (8-11, 6-10). Brandon Thomas led Bryan (11-11, 10-8) with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Justin Warner collected eight rebounds and Isaiah McClain scored 14 points. Karli Combs scored 16 and Destiny Kassner and Shayla Ludy added 11 each for the Lady Lions (21-1, 17-0), and Deandra Luna had eight rebounds and four assists. Jordan Wright scored 16 points for TWU (8-12, 8-9) and matched Madison McClurg with seven rebounds. Kenzie Conn grabbed eight.
Track & Field
* Even with five of their best runners unavailable because they competed in a meet in Boston, the NCAA Division II Lee University indoor track and field teams won one event and set or tied six school records Sunday in the Division I-dominated KMS Invitational at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Lee’s Daniel Surman was first (4.25 meters) and Eli Brooks was third in men’s pole vault. Jordan Allison established new Lady Flames records in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47 seconds) and long jump (5.21), and Gari Garmendia set a Lee men’s mark in the weight throw (14.86m). Jonah Mayes tied his week-old record in the high jump (1.95m), Stacen Cunningham equaled the school-best 60 hurdles (8.58) and Kendra Irvine matched the Lady Flames’ top pole vault (3.05m) and took fourth place in the meet. Lee’s Emma Clark was second and Becca Umbarger fifth in the women’s 3000-meter run, and Toni Moore was third in the 1 mile. Will Stone and Casey Guthery were third and fourth in the men’s mile, Thomas Kelton was third in the 3000, Mayes was fourth in triple jump and fifth in long jump and Garmendia was fifth in shot put. Former Lee runner Emily Buwalda, competing unattached, finished second in the women’s 800, and unattached ex-Tennessee Wesleyan standout Devonte Fletcher was second in the men’s 200 dash and fourth in the 60.
Compiled by Ron Bush. Contact him at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.